Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like everyone else in this House, I have been out canvassing, knocking on doors, in my case in North Kildare. The issue on everybody’s lips is water charges. It is a lightning rod for this election and invariably other taxes and charges come up in the conversation as well.

Members of this House call for certainty on the household bills people will receive but I hear the last thing people want is the certainty that another bill will fall through their letter boxes, yet another bill heaped on top of the taxes and charges already imposed, property tax, carbon taxes, and the universal social charge, which features large.

They are asking what they will get for the taxes they have already paid.  When the idea of water charges was first mooted, we were told it was all about conservation and, to cite the Taoiseach, fixing the inadequate and inferior water supply.  Many accept that water meters have a function in conservation.  People do not want to see waste, but there is a big difference between paying to wash one's car a couple of times a month and paying to wash one's children or flush the toilet.  That is where the free allowance is vital. Irish Water is stating that if people are prudent and use less water, it will be forced to increase its prices because it wants to maintain its income at a certain level.  It is clear that the sole purpose of this initiative is to create a tax that will provide more income for the Government which can be pumped into the black hole of the national debt and, effectively, turn citizens into consumers. The conservation issue has largely been lost. A figure of €537 million has been suggested for the Government subvention.  This subvention is from the people's taxes.  The Government did not pluck the figure out of thin air.  Will the subvention be at or above this level in 2015 and 2016?  If it is not, we will face a situation where decreasing subventions mean ever increasing bills.  Will the funding for the standing charge be additional to the subvention of €537 million or will it be included in the total?  If it is included, it will simply transfer into the cost per litre of water.

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